NFL Draft winners: Ravens, Giants

The NFL Draft is over. The envelopes, please.

BEST DRAFT, AFC

Baltimore Ravens. Safety Kyle Hamilton and center Tyler Linderbaum are up-the-middle winners. Baltimore’s six selections in the fourth round began with Daniel Faalele, a right tackle from Minnesota who’s 6-8 and 384 pounds and fits the team’s run-oriented offense. “We just drafted Godzilla!!” said ex-Ravens safety Tony Jefferson on social media. There’s a lot of play strength, a favored Ravens trait, in this 11-player class. Explosive edge rusher David Ojabo, coming off an Achilles injury, should help in 2023.

BEST DRAFT, NFC

New York Giants. Picking fifth and seventh, rookie General Manager Joe Schoen strengthened the lines with edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and tackle Evan Neal. Both are only 21. Thibodeaux’s blazing pass rush and friendship with Giants Hall of Famer Michael Strahan bodes well. Neal is comfortable at both tackle spots.

BEST SIGHT ON DRAFT NIGHT

Austin Ekeler on the draft stage, five years after the whole NFL whiffed on him. Ekeler, on stage to promote a coming Chargers telecast, has outperformed nearly every running back drafted in 2017. In comparison to those 27, he’s third in games and fourth in scrimmage touchdowns. The Chargers got Ekeler for $5,000 in guaranteed money, signing him out of Western State (Colorado) following the 2017 draft.

MYSTERY MAN AWARD

Bill Belichick. NFL personnel acknowledged surprise at the Patriots taking Chattanooga guard Cole Strange 29th, saying they figured he’d be available in the third round. Hoodie’s selection of Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe with the final pick of the fourth round came months after QB Mac Jones started all 18 games as a rookie. Reminder: if the team’s player evaluation is correct, where he’s drafted becomes a lot less important.

HARSH REALITY MOVE

The Titans’ third-round selection of quarterback Malik Willis one day after trading star receiver A.J. Brown seemed to confirm a belief Ryan Tannehill isn’t a Super Bowl quarterback. Tannehill has given Tennessee many excellent games, but there’s a strong case for heeding his limitations. Five months ago in a playoff game, top-seeded Tennessee had nine sacks of Joe Burrow, only for Tannehill’s three bad interceptions to spell defeat.

Willis can learn behind Tannehill, while getting much-needed game action in a situational role. If Willis inspires confidence, the Titans can trade Tannehill next offseason with a year left on his contract. Willis’ four-year contract, with an average value of $1.25 million, could free up tens of millions of dollars for the rest of the roster. But there’s a catch: the Liberty alum, strong-armed and elusive yet uneven as a passer, will have to outperform his draft slot (86th) and earn a starting job.

SURPRISE AWARD

NFL Network had no scouting reports or video of the 239th selection, former Yale safety Rodney Thomas, when the seventh-round pick was announced. Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said Thomas wasn’t among the 450 players he studied. “Congratulations to the Colts. They got me,” Jeremiah said.